orsillo sox announcer 1/25/01

Don Orsillo is looking forward to calling play-by-play for the Boston Red Sox this season. He calls it a dream come true. (NESN PHOTO)New Red Sox play-by-play announcer grew up in MadisonLloyd JonesPAWTUCKET, R.I. Every young sports fan imagines what it would be like to be a sports announcer for your favorite team. A rolled up pair of socks or a soda bottle become a microphone as you bark out the call of a game.Growing up in Madison, Don Orsillo was a loyal Red Sox fan and as a child he had a dream of sitting in the booth and commentating on New England's team. That dream has come true. New England Sports Network has hired the 32-year-old Pawtucket resident to handle Boston Red Sox play-by-play duties beginning in March. He will join Jerry Remy, NESN's 13-year veteran color commentator, in the broadcast booth. "At the age of 12, growing up in Madison," Orsillo contacted by phone Tuesday, said, "I told my parents I wanted to be a Red Sox announcer. I'm very grateful that NESN has given me this opportunity to complete a lifelong dream."He and Kathy, his wife, and Sydney, their eight-month-old daughter, live in Rhode Island, but Orsillo still has fond memories of living in Madison and comes up to Mount Washington Valley whenever he gets the opportunity."I love it up there," he said. "I love to ski at Cranmore and always enjoy eating at Horsefeathers and the Red Parka Pub."Orsillo was born in Melrose, Mass., but at the age of four his family relocated to Mount Washington Valley. "We moved to North Conway and lived in the Birch Hill area," he recalled. "When I was about eight we moved to Madison and lived on Lead Mine Road until I was 14. I have fond memories of the area. I remember going to John Fuller School until fourth grade and then attending Madison Elementary and then Kennett Junior High."We were one of three house on Lead Mine Road and I was one of 45 kids at Madison Elementary," Orsillo said. "I remember when we lived in Madison we only got three TV channels. One was WCSH out of Portland. Another was a station from Burlington, Vt., and then I think it was Channel 11 out of Manchester. There wasn't a lot to watch so I followed the Red Sox on the radio. I'd listen to every game I could. It was then I decided that I wanted to be an announcer when I grew up. I'm sure the odds were pretty long that a boy from Madison would fulfill his dream, but I have."At the age of 14, Orsillo and his family headed west to California where he attended and graduated from high school in Los Angeles before coming back east to attend college at Northeastern. "While (at Northeastern)," Orsillo said, "I tried to do as much as I could as a broadcaster, learning as much as I could along the way... During my sophomore year (Red Sox broadcaster) Joe Castiglione offered me a statistician job in the radio booth. I took it and that was kind of my start in baseball."Upon graduation from Northeastern, Orsillo landed his first play-by-play job with the Pittsfield Mets, the Class A affiliate for the New York Mets. He worked for the organization during the 1991 and 1992 seasons before advancing up the ladder to Class AA where he called Binghamton Mets games from 1993 to 1995. Between 1991 and 1996, Orsillo was also play-by-play announcer for the Springfield Indians/Falcons of the American Hockey League."I prefer baseball to hockey in terms of announcing," Orsillo said. "In hockey, you're non-stop go whereas in baseball there's a lot more dead time so you're able to give the audience more.""In 1996," he said, "the Pawtucket job opened up and it was a chance for me to get into Triple A and it worked out. It was a nice coincidence that the job was with the Red Sox."Since 1996, Orsillo has been calling the action for more than 140 Pawtucket Red Sox games each season. He was able to see the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Scott Hatteberg and Trot Nixon develop their skills in the minors. Last season, Orsillo's big break came when he was asked to fill in for Sean McDonough (Red Sox play-by-play announcer for FOX 25), who had a scheduling conflict for three games. On Sept. 23, he was the voice for the Sox home game with Baltimore (8-7 Boston in 10 innings) and Sept. 29-30 he went on the road with the club and covered a two-game stint against Tampa Bay (8-6 Tampa Bay and 4-2 Boston)."Having been in Pawtucket for five years really helped me," Orsillo said of his major league debut. "I knew 75 percent of the guys from the minors so walking in and seeing Nomar and Hatteberg was a nice feeling... I had a blast."It was his performance in those three games that caught the attention of NESN management. When play-by-play man Bob Kurz left NESN last fall, there was a microphone that needed a voice. NESN called Orsillo and he willingly accepted the job."We are very pleased to be able to introduce Don Orsillo to our viewers throughout New England," Bob Whitelaw, vice president of programming and operations for NESN, said. "His 10 years of consistent, professional, baseball play-by-play work; his familiarity with the Red Sox; and his easy conversational style, make him a very qualified and welcomed addition to our broadcast.""When he filled in for Sean McDonough he showed quite a bit of ability," Pat Cavanaugh, of media relations for NESN, said Tuesday. "We had seen what he could do at Pawtucket and he seemed like a very good fit for us.""I was excited to see another northern New Hampshire boy make good," Gary Roy, who grew up in Gorham and now works in media relations for NESN, said Tuesday. "He knows what it means to be a Sox fan and can relate with them."Orsillo and Remy will call five spring training games in March. "After that we head to Milwaukee to open up their new park," Orsillo said. "I'm looking forward to the season (86 regular season games on NESN)... This upcoming Red Sox season promises to be very exciting and I feel privileged to be a part of it."Orsillo certainly likes Boston's chances of reaching the post-season this year. "I think they're a tremendous team," he said. "Right now they match up so well offensively with the rest of the league. With Manny Ramirez on board I don't think they'll have any trouble scoring runs. If Jason Varitek can come back and have the sort of season he did two years ago this team will be awesome. I also think we'll see better things out of Nixon and (Troy) O'Leary." "The pitching looks better than last year," Orsillo continued. "I like the acquisition of David Cone. I think he's got a lot left and has got a lot to prove this year. He's going to be out to show people he can still be a dominating starter... Picking up (Frank) Castillo and (Hideo) Nomo were great moves... I think Sox fans have a lot to look forward to."Orsillo doesn't know if he'll be able to get up to the valley before having to head south in early March. "I'd love to get up to ski, but our schedule looks pretty tight," he said. "I hear the skiing is great I wish I was there."A lot of Sox fans would probably swap spots with him.